Head First – 10 Different Intelligences by Tony Buzan – Book Review

In this book, first published in 2000, Tony Buzan writes that we all have ten different types of intelligence. This book is an amazing reference, if only to make the reader think about all the ways we think. There are great possibilities for personal growth by strengthening the areas in which we are good and exercising in those areas that we have mainly ignored or even ignored.

The chapter corresponding to each intelligence contains several sections.

1. A brief but complete definition of intelligence.

2. A statement of the benefits to be gained from the study of this specific intelligence.

3. An example of an individual who excels at this.

4. A section with proof that you are smarter than you think.

5. Case studies of more people as examples and role models.

6. Brain workouts. Nothing is free, exercises to make you stronger.

7. The end of each chapter contains tests and quizzes. Challenge yourself, see how you stack up against the experts, and maybe learn some new ways of thinking.

Here are the 10 types of intelligence with my brief summary of each. I may not agree with the choice of 10 as the correct number, but the chosen ones are certainly worthy of consideration in many ways.

1. Creative. This is your ability to generate new ideas. To be flexible, find new ways to use old ideas. The stars here are those who can find new solutions quickly.

2. personal. The star here is a person who knows himself. He is self-aware and uses this knowledge for personal fulfillment.

3. Social. The star here can interact productively and meaningfully with other human beings. It’s about personal relationships.

4. Spiritual. This is about the really big picture. Use your intelligence for more than selfish interests.

5. Physical. This person is aware that he is in harmony with his physical being. This person is physically fit, coordinated, and is likely to be an athlete, artist, surgeon, etc.

6. Sensual. Use your five senses and your intuition to live fully. The human body, properly used, is an incredibly complete organism capable of doing many things better than all of man’s inventions.

7. Sexual. In its most basic form, the drive to survive, to procreate, to continue the human race.

8. Numeric. The ability to manipulate the language of numbers. This should be something simple because many of us only have to worry about ten symbols, from zero to nine. Some of us only care about the zeros and ones.

9. Spatial. This is the ability to see the relationships of shapes to each other and to the space where they exist.

10. Oral. Verbal intelligence is a little more complex than numerical intelligence. We manipulate 26 characters to define thoughts and communicate them to ourselves and others.

This book is highly recommended as an introduction to many ways of seeing and thinking about the world. Being a Buzan book, the reader also gets the picture bonus of several complex and colorful mind maps.